Dozens of Twitter accounts blocked in Turkey by court

An Ankara court has blocked access to dozens of Twitter accounts in Turkey which are critical of the Turkish government or President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The decision to block the Twitter accounts was made by the Ankara 2nd Penal Court of Peace.

One of the blocked Twitter accounts belongs to Ercan Karakoyun, director of the Foundation for Dialogue and Education, an organization affiliated with the Gülen movement in Germany.

“My Twitter account has been blocked in Turkey. I have received a letter from Erdoğan. I am proud of myself,” Karakoyun wrote from his Twitter account on Sunday.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, which launched a war against the Gülen movement following the eruption of the corruption scandal in late 2013, carried its ongoing crackdown on the movement and its sympathizers to a new level after a failed coup attempt on July 15.

Although the movement strongly denies having any role in the corruption probe or the coup attempt, the government accuses it of having masterminded both despite the lack of any tangible evidence.

Hundreds of social media accounts or websites that are critical of Erdoğan and the government have been blocked by courts in Turkey which are accused of acting on orders from the government.